Apparatus for emptying packages or receptacles having flexible walls



E. PIQUEREZ 2,509,549

5 HAVING FLEXIBLE WALLS March 1, i938.

APPARATUS FOR EMPTYING PACKAGES OR RECEPTACLE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 9, 1936 March 1, 3938. E. PIQUEREZ 3, APPARATUS FOR EMPTYING PACKAGES OR RECEPTACLES HAVING FLEXIBLE WALLS- Filed Dec. 9, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 E. PIQUEREZ 2,109,549

S HAVING FLEXIBLE WALLS March 1 1938.

APPARATUS FOR EMPTYING PACKAGES OR RECEPTACLE Filed Dec. 9, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR EMIPTYING PACKAGES OR RECEPTACLES HAVING FLEXIBLE WALLS Emile Piquerez, Saint-Cloud, France Application December 9, 1936, Serial No. 115,024 In France December 21, 1935 10 Claims. (01. 221-475) The present invention has for its object an the large faces of the wedge the thickness of improvement in methods and apparatus for the bag is very much less than that of the side emptying packages or receptacles having flexwalls above-mentioned so that the flattening at ible walls, containing viscous liquids or pasty the edge of the large faces is satisfactorily cfmaterials, according to which the emptying is fected, and such thickness can also increase from 5 obtained by crushing the package by means of the edge upwardly.

an air pressure developed inside a resistant en- 0. At the upper part of the large faces, for a closure in which the said package has been predistance from the seal at the base, the thickness viously enclosed. very substantially decreases so that such part However, the emptying obtained by this methcan be considerable elongated to pass'around the 10 0d, although satisfactory, is not complete owsmall arms of the T which will finally be formed ing to the fact that the air-seal between the by the flattened package. package and the enclosure is never perfect and The lower part of the bag both in the rounded that the package such as it has hitherto been portions and on the large faces, can be reinforced l5 devised is not rationally crushed, that is to say to avoid its deterioration by the metal clip which without leaving pockets. Thus with the package closes the edge of the p 1 made of strong paper, having the shape known In Sp e of this and in particular in the Case by the name of Wallis wedge, a perfect emptyof the package in the shape of a Wallis wedge, ing cannot be obtained under the present ccnwhich is the most usually employed, and for very ditions. thick grease, it may occur that the package is '20 The improvement made in this method by the crushed at the side in the bulged zone at least present invention, overcomes these drawbacks. s s ance C mp s d be wee the bottom and It consists essentially in interposing between the the two plain walls which end at the angle of package and the wall of the enclosure under the wedge, before the said walls have come pressure, a pocket or bag, preferably made of into contact with each other over their entire 25 rubber, forming with the said wall an enclosed surface, so that a certain quantity of grease is space, in which air is introduced under pressure cut off from all access towards the outlet and so that the crushing of the packing is effected ma ns i p iso ed. through the instrumentality of a bag made of To overcome this drawback the elastic pocket rubber or the like. or bag is advantageously constituted so as to be 30 The upper edge of the bag is used to form diundeformable over a certain height from its open rectly a joint which ensures the air-tightness of base, or it will be made undcformable in this the space between said bag and the wall of the region by an appropriate reinforcement such as enclosure under pressure. a a metal ring arranged against its inner face or 5 Said edge can be plain or can consist of a toric embedded in its mass when it is moulded. '35 keeper. By means of this arrangement the parts of the A further and important feature of the inrubber bag and of the package adjacent this vention is the shape and thickness of the rubber rigid zone, instead of prematurely moving bag. The bag will preferably have in its various against the bottom of the package are folded 40 parts a variable thickness depending on the proxback vertically about said zone, this modification 40 imity of the corresponding parts of the package, being accompanied, during the whole time it those which correspond to zones of the package takes place, by a considerable tension in the wall intended to be crushed first having less thickof the bulged part of least resistance whereby ness than those corresponding to parts intended the package cannot become prematurelyfthrot- 5 to be crushed last. tled in this region to cut off the path of the Thus in an embodiment which is more particgrease coming from the edge of the Wallis wedge. ularly adapted for the emptying of packages hav- In an advantageous embodiment, the rigid ring ing the shape of a Wallis wedge, the invention is provided with an annular base which is used can advantageously have one or a plurality of to fix the edge of the rubber bag on thecasing. 5 the following characteristics: The accompanying drawings show by way of a, Opposite the large faces of the wedge, example two embodiments of the apparatus the thickness of the bag walls increases away which is the object of the invention, in the case from the edge upwardly so that in operation the of its application to a packing in the shape of a angle closes progressively from the edge. Wallis wedge. b. Opposite the rounded portions connecting Fig. -1 is a vertical section perpendicular to 55 the large face of the Wallis wedge of a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 a horizontal section along 2-2 Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the bisecting plane of the wedge.

Fig. 4 is a detail section of a modification of the edge of the rubber bag.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of a second embodiment ready to operate for emptying.

Fig. 6 is another vertical section of this device, assumed to be turned upside down, during the emptying operation.

As can be seen in Fig. 1, the package to be emptied l which in this example has the shape of a Wallis wedge is lodged in a resistant enclosure ll formed by a box of the same shape and a lid l2. The top of the box I l is mounted in a part I3 which has a bearing face for the edge Ma of a rubber bag I4 interposed between the box H and the package l0. Said edge Ma is held by a joint cover washer l clamped by screws 16, thereby making the pressure chamber P between the box and the bag perfectly air tight. The part [3 carries a compressed air inlet connection l1 and a duct l8 passes therethrough which places said connection in communication with the chamber P.

On the other hand the circular edge Illa of the package I0 is clamped between the washer l5 and the lid l2 thereby giving a suflicient airtightness with respect to the lubricant or other viscous material contained in the package.

The lid l2 which is hinged on a pin I9 carried by the lugs 20 of the part I3 is clamped for example by means of wing nuts 2| permanently mounted on screwed rods 22 which swing on pins 23 also carried by the part 13, said rods being adapted to engage in slots of the lid, in known manner.

Said lid has at its centre an outlet nipple 24, the orifice 25 of which communicates with that of the base end of the package. Said nipple, which is of any shape and length, can be replaced by a pipe opening into any receptacle or capacity. This is the case for example when the package is used as a reservoir of a lubricant pump.

The rubber bag l4 could of course be of uniform thickness, but to obtain best results, according to the invention, the thickness is varied according to the proximity of the corresponding parts of the packing.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, it will be seen that opposite the large faces the thickness increases from the bottom edge upwardly (from A to B, Fig. 1) and that in the rounded parts which connect said large faces to each other the thickness is much less, while it increases from the bottom upwardly (from C to D, Fig. 3). Owing to this fact, when air under pressure is blown into the chamber P the flattening of the package under the action of the rubber bag, which is pushed in by the air, takes place strictly from the bottom upwardly perpendicularly to the large faces, closing the angle of the wedge progressively from the top and as easily at the edge of said large faces as in the middle, owing to the greater elasticity of the parts E, Fig. 2.

On the other hand from B and D, to the upper edge Ma the thickness both on the large faces and on the rounded portions decreases, whereby these smaller parts F can become considerably elongated to take up the contour of the small arms of the T which is formed by the flattened package (see the portion in chain dotted lines in Fig. 1). Finally, owing to the presence of the metal closure 21 of the wedge, the lower part G of the bag will be advantageously reinforced for a long service.

Instead of the plane edge 14a the rubber bag could have at the edge of its upper opening a toric keeper Mb, Fig. 4. In this case the clamping between the lid and the box would eiiect at the same time the clamping of said keeper and of the rolled edge of the packing.

In Figs. 5 and 6, 30 designates the metal casing, 3| its lid or its fixing flange, 33 the package of the lubricant. The bottom 34 of said package is closely applied against the fiat part of the flange 3i and its opening 35 communicates with the pipe 36 which conveys the grease to the cylinder of the compressor, not shown.

The rubber bag 3'! of which the thickness varies so that the crushing of the package takes place by moving together the plain faces of the Wallis wedge from the edge towards the fiat base, is in this case provided at its base with a metal band or ring 38 adapted to make it un-deformable at this point. In this example said circle is arranged inside the bag which is fixed to the casing, for example by clamping between the edge of the said casing and an annular edge 3811 on the circle 38 by means of screws 39.

The supply of compressed air to the casing is eifected by any appropriate means, for example by a nozzle M! which is introduced, when the said casing is placed in position with the enclosed packing, in a joint 4| provided at the orifice of the supply pipe 42. The two parts of the emptying system are sealed in order to avoid leakage of grease by the sole clamping of the beading 34 of the package between two conical parts of the flange 3! and of the rigid circle 3838a.

The operation is as follows:

When compressed air is first sent into the space between the casing and the rubber bag the crushing of the package through the intermediary of said bag begins to take place from the closure 43 by the moving together of the tWo plain faces of the Wallis wedge; at the same time the zone H (Fig. 5) of the rubber bag which is adjacent the rigid circle 38 is pressed on the packing, then together with the zone adjacent the latter, bends back gradually inwardly about the said circle (Fig. 6). This bending back is necessarily accompanied by the production of a considerable tension in the bulged zone of least resistance of the wall of the package, which tension opposes the production of any unwanted throttling of the packing in this region. Thus the flattening of the package in the direction of the arrows f can continue to take place progressively from the edge towards the base without leaving any inclosed grease.

The portion in chain dotted lines 33 indicates the final shape of the package, and 37 that of the elastic bag.

It is obvious that the stiffening circle could be otherwise arranged and for example be embedded in the rubber during moulding.

On the other hand, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and illustrated of which it includes all the modifications which might be necessitated by its applications, to other shapes of packages. Finally the rubber bag could be replaced by a more ample bag made of any flexible hermetic material.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for discharging viscous liquids or pasty materials comprising a package containing the material, said package having flexible side walls and a flat end wall, a casing for accommodating the package with lateral play, and a bag of flexible material interposed between the package and the casing, means for putting the interior of the casing and exterior of the bag under fluid pressure, so that the pressure crushes the package through the intermediary of said bag.

2. Apparatus for discharging viscous liquids or pasty materials comprising a package containing the material, said package having flexible side walls and a flat end wall, a casing accommodating the package, with lateral play, a bag of flexible and extensible material interposed between the package and the casing, means for subjecting the interior of said casing and exterior of said bag to fluid pressure to crush the package through the intermediary of said bag.

3. Apparatus for emptying packages of viscous liquids or pasty materials comprising, a package having flexible side walls and a flat end wall for containing said material, a casing for accommodating the package with lateral play, said casing having a lid provided with an outlet opening, the flat wall of said package having an opening communicating with the opening in the casing, a bag made of flexible and extensible material interposed between the package and the casing, means for ensuring air-tightness between the bag and the casing and means for ensuring airtightness between the bag and the package, and a connection fixed on the casing for supplying a compressed fluid to said casing between its wall and that of the bag.

4. Apparatus for emptying packages of viscous liquids or pasty materials comprising a package containing said material having flexible side walls and a flat end wall, a casing for accommodating the package with lateral play, said package having a flexible peripheral edge around its flat end wall, a lid provided with an outlet opening for the casing, the end wall of the package having an opening communicating with said outlet opening of the casing, a bag made of flexible and extensible material interposed between the package and the casing, said bag being provided with an edge around its entrance, an annular clamping element for clamping said edge on the top of the casing, means for clamping the edge of the package between said annular element and the lid of the casing, and a connection fixed on the casing for supplying a compressed fluid to said casing between its inner surface and the outer surface of the bag.

5. Apparatus for emptying packages having flexible side walls and flat end walls and containing viscous liquids or pasty materials comprising a casing for accommodating the package with side play, a flat bottomed and flexible wall package enclosed in said casing, means for placing said casing under pressure of a compressed fluid, a bag made of flexible and extensible material interposed between the package and the casing, said bag having in its various parts a variable thickness in accordance with the desired order of crushing of the parts of the package, the parts of the bag corresponding to the parts of the package desired to be crushed first having less thickness than the parts corresponding to the parts of the package desired to be crushed last.

6'. Apparatus for emptying packages having flexible side walls containing viscous liquids or pasty materials which comprises, a package in the shape of a Wallis wedge having side walls of flexible material and a flat end, a casing accommodating said package with lateral play, means for supplying fluid pressure within the casing, a bag made of flexible and extensible material interposed between the package and the casing, said bag having, opposite the large oblique faces of the Wallis wedge, increasing thickness from the point towards the flat end.

7. Apparatus for emptying packages having flexible side walls containing viscous liquids or pasty materials which comprises, a package having flexible side walls and a flat end and having the shape of a Wallis wedge, a casing for accommodating said package with lateral play, a bag having, opposite large oblique faces of the Wallis wedge, a thickness which increases from the point towards the flat end, said bag being made of flexible and extensible material and being interposed between the package and the casing, said bag having an undeformable portion extending a part of its length from its base.

8. Apparatus for emptying packages of viscous liquids orpasty materials which comprises, a package in the form of a Wallis Wedge having flexible side walls and a flat base, a casing accommodating said package with lateral side play,

means for placing said casing under fluid pressure, a bag made of flexible and extensible material interposed between the package and the casing, said bag having a flat and flexible wall packing, and being in the shape of a Wallis wedge, said bag being undeformable for a portion of its height from its base.

9. Apparatus for emptying packages containing viscous liquids or pasty materials which comprises, a package having flexible side walls and a rigid flat end and in the form of a Wallis wedge, a casing for accommodating the packing with lateral play, means for placing the interior of said casing under fluid pressure, a bag made of flexible and extensible material interposed between the package and the casing, and a rigid ring disposed inside said bag at the base of the latter, to make said bag undeformable in the portion thereof adjacent said base.

10. Apparatus for emptying packages containing viscous liquids or pasty materials which comprises, a package having flexible side walls and a rigid flat base and in the form of a Wallis wedge, a casing for accommodating the package with lateral play, means for placing the said casing under fluid pressure, a bag made of flexible and extensible material interposed between the package and the casing,said bag having in its various parts a variable thickness according to the desired sequence of progressive crushing of the parts of the package, the parts of the bag corresponding to the parts of the package desired to be crushed first having less thickness than those which correspond to the parts of the package desired to be crushed last, and a rigid ring disposed inside said bag at the base of the latter, to make said bag undeformable in the portion adjacent its base.

EMILE PIQUEREZ. 

